i'm sure you've heard that racing is all about driving smoothly and heel-toe is a big part in and between deceleration and acceleration.

heel-toe also helps the syncros which in turn puts less stress on your transmission and drivetrain.

 

Sorry I don't know how to use the quotes better in this forum.

"heel-toe also helps the syncros which in turn puts less stress on your transmission and drivetrain. " - You only reduce the stress on your synchros if you double clutch, but either way you will limit the stress on the drivetrain.

"You can archieve the same but letting go your clutch more slowly but that will take more time which you don't wanna lose in a race." - Though others might disagree, you will not add time to your lap by heel-toeing slower. As long as you can hold the brake pressure near the limit and complete your shift during your breaking you should be fine. You are slowing down and therefore your shift doesn't add/subtract time, your braking does. Now if you were accelerating, the long shift will definitely add time. It just takes practice to figure out how fast to let the clutch out.

Just my 2 cents. There are 3 or 4 pages in "Going Faster! Mastering the Art of Race Driving" that describe heel-toe.

 

a) because we can in the S

b) because it is a f'n blast

c) the chicks that actually know what it is, dig it

d) and all that easy-on-the-synchro-double-clutch-car-stability-powerband-stuff, too

 

my understanding in a simple way for heel-toe is so you can stay in the powerband on the certain gear out of the corner that you have to brake for. Sometimes you dont even need to change gear during heel-toe, but use the clutch.

I do that alot in city for the 90 degree turns, people suprise I have so much power out of the slow turns.


ps. after I re-read what I just type seems not so simple

 

It also seems like you are going to bounce your car off a curb if you don't burn up the clutch first. Slipping the clutch or dropping the clutch coming out of a corner under power is not heel-toeing. Your "understanding" is not correct.

 

[QUOTE=MC21,Dec 8 2005, 02:54 PM]my understanding in a simple way for heel-toe is so you can stay in the powerband on the certain gear out of the corner that you have to brake for.

 

MC21, I don't know whether you're talking about dipping/slipping the clutch, or power braking, or something else, but it's not heel-and-toe. Heel-and-toe is a technique used to make downshifts smoothly while braking. The action is complete before you enter the turn. The only effect on whether you're in the powerband at corner exit is due to being in the correct gear ahead of time.

 

Not always.... But usually it SHOULD be complete before you enter the turn. I must admit to just plain forgetting to downshift from time to time. That gets exciting when you suddenly realize it in the middle of a trailbraking corner. 'Oops!'.

That's when it can really save you.

 

Thanks for the elaboration on this everyone. I completely understand the benefits from a racing standpoint as well as eleviating a bit of stress from the drivetrain.

Having chicks diggin it is definitely a bonus! I'll try to show off a little next time out

 

Hmmm. Lots of talk about chicks digging it. My wife seems to find it somewhat distracting. She asks me why I'm always "revving the engine."

"Honey, why do you keep doing that?"

Maybe I'll brush up on my _Going Faster_ and _Speed Secrets_ and then dazzle her with my driving technique and knowledge of vehicle dynamics.

She'll go from to